Potato-harvester.



PATENTED AUG. 28, 1906.

J. P. BRENNAN. POTATO HARVESTBR. ABPLIOATION FILED 001220. 1904 W/TNESSES' W A T-TURNEYS.

To all'wh'om it may concern:

JAMES P. BRENNAN, OF COLUMBUS, WISCONSIN.

POTATO-HAHVESTEH- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 28, 1906.

Application filed October 26,1904. Serial No. 229.225.

Y 'Be it known that I, JAMES P. BRENNAN, a

citizen of the United States, residin at Golumbus,"courity of Columbia, and tate of -Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Im rovements in Potato-Harvesters, of which the followin is a specification.

My invention re ates to improvements in that class of potatoharvesters for which Letters Patent N 0. 616,885, issued to me on the 3d day of January, 1899; and it pertains more especially to certain details of construction hereinafter explained, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, which re resents a side view thereof.

ike parts are identified by the same referengiecharacters throughout the view.

3 other t ings, the traction-wheels 1 1, wheelconnecting axle 2, axle-supported frame 3 otato-excavating blade 4, blade-su porting earn 5, reel 6, provided with radia arms 7, reel-supporting arms 8, framesupporting wheels 9, and'mechanism' for raisin and adjusting the excavating-blade and t e bladesupporting beam, together with the parts connected therewith. My potato-reel 6 comprises thecentral shaft 10, which is supported at its respective ends from the arms 8 in journal-bearings 15 and annular rim 11, which is supported from the shaft 10 by the radial arms or spokes 12. The annular rim 11 is provided with a radial flange 13, to which a plurality of radial arms 7 are connected by bolts 14. It is obvious that by the construction shown a greater or less number of radial arms may. in like manner he secured to the reel, as desired. 'Motion is communicated from the traction-wheel 1 to the reel 6 through the axle 2, sprocket-wheel 16, sprocket-chain 17, sprocket-wheel 18, and reel-supporting shaft 10. The frame 3 is supports at its front end from the axle 2 and at its rear end from the traction-wheels nions as the directiomof the harvester is changed. 24 is a three-armed hoisting-lever by w ich the beams 5 and the parts connected therewith are raised and adjusted at any deotato -harvester comprises, among sired elevation, motion being communicated from the lever 24 to both the front and rear ends of both of the beams at the same time, motion being communicated directly to the front end of one of said beams from the lever 24 through the arm 25, link 26 bolts 27 and 28 and to the rear end of said beam through the arm 29, cable 30, and cable-supporting ulley 31, while motion is communicated in like manner to the other beam 5 through similar arms and cable on the opposite side of the frame through the transversel -arranged shaft 24, whereby both ends of 0th beams are simultaneous] raised and lowered b the movement of'sai lever 24. The cablias 30 are supported above the rear ends of the beams u on the puilleys 31. be obvious that as the ever 24 is drawn rearwardly from the position shown toward the operators seat 32' said beams 5 will be raised and'the excavatin -blade 4 removed from the soil, when the arvester may be ground. When, however, it is desired to use the harvester, the beams and excavatingblade are lowered by forwardl tothe position shown.

, eater or less depths, as may be required for different work, by changingthe ad]ustment of the lever 24 to the lever-retaining ratchet at 33. The ratchet 33 is su ported on the frame 3. The lever 24 is 100 ed at anyldesired point of adjustment with the teeth of the ratchet by the ordinary locking mechanism used for such purposes consisting of the awl-actuating spring 36, hand-actuating bracket 37, pivotally connected with said lever and connecting-rod 38. p To facilitate raising the beam and the parts connected therewith, I preferably connect the upper arm of the o erating-lever 24 with the stationar part of she frame 3 by a spiral spring 39. t will be understood that as said beam and connecting parts are lowered said sion and that when desired to raise the beam and connecting parts a ortion of its gravity will be counterbalance .by the recoil of said spring, whereby the same may be raised with greater ease. 40 is a screen which is made Thus a will drawn like an ordinary vehicle over the It wil also be obvious that the blade 4' may be adjusted to penetrate the earth at x spring will be drawn out and put under ten- 11 of a plurality of longitudinal bars 41,;- w 'ch are connected at their rear ends with throwing the lever 24 sliding pawl 34, pawl-supporting bracket 35,

the rear ends of the arms 8 through the transversely-arranged bars 42 and at their front ends with the rear end of the excavatingblade 4 in any convenient manner, the screen being so arranged that as the potatoes, with the surrounding soil, are raised by the excavating-blade they will be deposited thereon, when the dirt is screened out between the bars 41, while the potatoes 'are carried rearwardly and upwardly over the rear end of the screen 40 by the action of the radial arms 7 of the reel, the radial arms 7 being adapted to enter the spaces between the bars 41 of the screen as they are carried rearwardly by the revolving movement of the reel, whereb the potatoes are elevated, as stated, and deposited upon the reversely-incliued screen 43, from which the pass of their own ravity to the ground. he screen 43 is mare u of a plurality of fingers 44, which are rigidly connected at their upper ends to the transversely-arranged bar 45, which bar 45 is pivotally connected at its respective ends to the rear ends of said arms 8. he rear end of the screen 43 is s'us ended at a slight distance above the groum through the spiral springs 4.7 and radial arm 48. The

\ arm 48 is rigidly connected at its lower end to the shaft 45.

Thus it is obvious that as the harvester moves upwardly and downwardly over a rough surface the rear end of said screen 43 will be thrown downwardlyby its gravity and drawn upwardly by the recoil of the spring 47 and be thus caused to vibrate rapid y upwardly and downwardly, whereby the dirt is more effectually separated from the potatoes as they are passing overthe screen. 49 is a flexible connection which serves to hold the screen 43 in an elevated position when the harvester is not in use, and when thus used the free end of the chain is en aged in the hook 50.

o prevent the potato-vines, weeds, and similar material which ma be caught by the radial arms 7 of the reel em being carried over the reel and thrown forwardly upon the machine, I have provided a series of bars 51 which are supported from bar 52. It will be understood that such vines and refuse mate rial as are carried u wardly by the radial arms 7 will be caugiit, broken, and disengaged therefrom by the bars 51.

53 represents side bars by which the po tatoes are prevented from being shaken from the side of the screen as they are being elevated. The front ends of the beams 5 are connected with the main frame 3 through the slidable bracket 54 and bolt 55', which bolt operates ina vertical recess 56, formed in said bracket.

Heretofore it has been common to connect the front ends of the beams of the excavatlug-blade at a fixed point to the main frame, whereby the rear portion of the beams is swllmg upwardly without raising the front on It will be obvious that by the construction 1 shown I am enabled to raise and lower both the front and rear ends of the beam and connecting parts vertically at the same time. By thisarrangement it will be understood that I am enabled to change the depth of the excavating-blade in the soil without changiin r its inchnation to the surface of the groun w ich is avery im ortantobject to attain.

57 is an idler-pu ley, by which the slack in the sprocket-chain 17 is regulated as the reel and reel-supporting frame are raised. The pulley 57 is revolubly supported from the vertical bar 58, which bar 58 is slidably supported in the bracket 59, said bar 58 being thrown up by the recoil of the spiral s ring 60.- The spiral spring 60 bears at its ower end against the lower end of the bracket 59 and at its upper end against the in 61, which pin 61 is rigidly connected wit the bar 58, whereby said bar 58,.is thrown upwardly by the recoil of the spring while the spring is compressed by the downward ressure of the sprocket-chain 17 upon the pu ley 57.

It will now be understood that by the peculiar mechanism shown anddescribed for connecting the front end of the beam 5 with draw-bolt 55, which operates in the vertical slot in the bracket 54, and by the link 26 and operating-handle 24 I am able to not only raise, lower, and adjust both ends of the beam simultaneously without changing the inclinw tion of the beam to the surface of the ground, but it is also a fact that when the operatinghandle 24 is locked at any desired point on the rack-bar the front end of the beam will be held in place by the link 26 and cannot rise and fall, as it might otherwise do with the rear end of the beam as the excavating-plate is drawn over uneven surfaces. It therefore follows that when the o erating-handle is locked the rear end of the beam is free to rise and fall as the excavatinglate is drawn over uneven surfaces, thereby d esc'ribing a partial circle around the drawbolt, while the front end remains in the same relative position to such draw-bolt but when the operating-handle is moved backwardly and forwardly said beam and the other parts supported therefrom will be raised and lowered bodily.

Having thus described my inrvention, what I claim asnew, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a potato-harvester the combination with the cam of the excavating-blade of means for slidably connecting the front end of said beam by a fixed pivot tothe beamsupporting frame, beam-supporting frame, means for raisin and lowering both the front and rear en s of said beam "simultaneously by the manual act of the operator,

the main frame of the machine both by the means for retaining the front end of the beam at substantially a fixed point upon said ivot as the rear end of the beam is raise and lowered by contact of the excavating-blade with uneven surfaces.

2. In a potato-harvester the combination with the main frame and reel, screen,- and blade supporting beam of means for slidably connecting the front end of said beam by a fixed pivotal draw-bolt to said frame, means for communicating a vertical movement to both the front and rear ends of the beam simultaneously, by the manual act of the operator, such means consisting of a threearmed lever ivotally supported from said frame, a flcxi le connection communicating from one of the arms of said lever ever hearings with the rear end of said beam, and a link communicating from another arm of said lever to the front end of said beam, said link being adapted to serve the twofold pur ose of communicating motion from the ban -actuated lever to the beam as said lever is moved and of holding the front end of said beam at a substantially fixed point relatively to said retaining-pivot when said operatinglever is at rest.

3. In a potatodiarvester the combination of a main supporting-frame 3, operating-lever 24 pivota y supported from said frame, blade-supporting beam 5 provided at its'front end with a vertical slot formed at right angles thereto for the rece tion of the pivotal bolt 55, ivotal bolt 55 rigidly fixed at one end to sai frame and having pivotal hearings in said vertical slot; link 26 communicating between the arm 25 of said operating-lever and said beam, said link being adapted to serve the twofold purpose of communicating a ver- JAMES P. BRENNAN.

Witnesses:

ELsin KOPPLIN, M. G. VVEILEMANN. 

